Stalemate
by Desis
Summary: One step forwards and one step back, neither of them can gain the upper hand.


oh boy finals time

also i will probably never write a non-drabble linear story

* * *

Fighting gets boring quick. Oh yes, the flash of blades and waves of blood, the jumping and twisting and turning, the groaning and panting and snarling- it's exhilarating, it's freeing- and it's predictable, it's tiresome.

Step right, dodge, feint. She'll block, jump back, ruinga. Counter, blast wave, body and soul. Aura, mighty guard, ultima and invulnerability. Odin, Chaos Bahamut, chase.

It's not so much _fighting_ anymore, he thinks. They know each other too well. _Predict, forsee, deduce. _Fighting or dancing? _Duck, dodge, lean. _She can't tell.

Sometimes they just...Talked. A different kind of fighting, a different kind of dancing. _Lie, bluff, feign. _Like a round of verbal chess. _Yes, no, yes, maybe. _

_"Yeah right."_

_"And you're one to talk."_

Like a poker game, they exchange secrets, seeing who can win the most and lose the least. Who can wound the other more? She snickers.

_"Of course I'll win, Caius. How many years have you lived, people you've lost, memories you've forgotten? How much pain have you suffered in your eternity compared to mine?"_

He remembers, he forgets.

_"I've lived just as long as you have, I've never been alive. I've seen so many die, I've killed so many myself. I've forgotten everything of nothing, I remember nothing of everything."_

It frustrates her. He can read her like an open book, pages open and overflowing with lines of text, every personal thought spelt out in front of him, childish illustrations revealing her every idea.

_"How many people will you never see again, Lightning? How many people's lives have you ruined? How many will forget you, act like you never existed? You're not important. Nobody is."_

_"Not even yourself?"_

_"Nobody." _

A feral dog who's known nothing but violence will not back down without a fight. Neither do they.

_"You'll have to see her die a million times before you lose, Caius. Know that despite all your immortality and powers, you're unable to help her. Your meddling is sending her to her death. What makes you better than any other time traveler, interfering with the timeline?"_

Step forward, step back, spin her around, twist, turn, bow, one hand on the waist and the other holding her's.

_" Answer me this, Caius. Why do you persist, when you know she wishes to return, just to see you again?"_

Jump and shove and she's leading, with a grin like a pane of glass.

_"Why do you fight when you know they will die? You and I are immortal, they are not. Your precious Serah will die, has died, and is dead by this point. There's nothing you can do to keep her alive, no matter how powerful you are. You've seen Augusta Tower, you've seen how your loyal dog will die due to your actions-he'll condemn himself and a thousand other innocents to death trying to find you. And yet, you keep trying, they keep trying."_

Flash and the glass shatters, she snarls but she doesn't pull away. This dance isn't over yet.

_" Answer me this, Claire. You may preach all you want, but can you honestly say that your actions are purer, better, that your goal is worth more than mine?"_

_"Of course. I want a better future. You wish for a world where nothing exists."_

_"And how do you know those two are not one and the same?"_

It's worse than fighting could ever be. When fighting, wounds are physical. There's a way to block, there's a way to counter, and cuts fade as soon as they open.

_"Of course they're not the same! You want to condemn everyone to the same torture you are going through! We are in no way similar!"_

_"Then say that you can't envision yourself in my place, desperately trying to same the only family you've ever known, when you have seen her die so many times, when you have lived so long your age is not recorded in years or decades or eons- when everyone you know has forgotten you. Say that you do not wish to save the seeress, say you would do nothing as you watch her perish again and again, when you have the power and ability to stop it."_

She twirls herself around, feather skirt fanning out behind her. A feather falls loose, and she tucks it into his hair with the sickly-sweet innocence of a daughter.

_"Tell me Caius, when where you truly happy?"_

Thunder, thundaga, bladestorm, ruin, smite, scourge.

_"When did you ever live without the burden of guarding a girl who was condemned to die?"_

Whirlwind, pulsar burst, magneton, gravity, obliterating ray.

"When did you ever live for yourself?"

Legion of One.

She's won this round. He doesn't answer.

"I thought so."

"I'll answer your question when you answer them yourself," he smirks.

Megaflare.

She doesn't answer. If there's one thing, it's that they don't lie to each other.

Zantetsuken.

"I'll save her, I'll do anything."

"I'll save her, I'll do everything."

Duck, twist, spin, step, grab, back and forwards and side to side.

It's a stalemate.


End file.
